How I structure my Obsidian vault (Obsidian tour 2023)

TL;DR

Avoid rigid “one place only” organization; use links and context-rich hubs so notes can participate in multiple ideas.

Briefing Cornell Notes

Briefing

The core finding is that a high-volume Obsidian vault (8,000+ notes) stays usable long-term when organization avoids rigid “either/or” placement and instead relies on context-rich connections—mainly links and Dataview queries—while keeping folders limited to namespace and maintenance-friendly boundaries.

Nicole van der Hoeven starts with a philosophy built for scale and flexibility. She tries to avoid binary structures where a note can only live in one place (like a strict folder-only setup). She also hesitates to add heavy structure because upkeep becomes painful as the vault grows toward 10,000, 20,000, or even 100,000 notes. Her preferred structures add context: they should make it clear not only where something sits, but why it belongs there and what other places it could fit. Finally, she pushes modularity—reducing duplication by keeping notes reusable as building blocks for later ideas.

Tags get the least emphasis. She keeps only a small set of tags, using them mainly for special workflows. One example is a “TVZ” tag meaning “to verzetteln,” marking items that haven’t been processed yet—effectively an inbox. She also uses nested tags under open-source project identifiers (like “k6”) to capture feedback quickly, then roll it up into higher-level categories (e.g., k6/feedback/analysis). Even so, she treats the tag pane as mostly ignorable because other methods—especially links—serve her organization needs better.

Folders still play a role, but a narrow one. She uses them to establish namespaces and restrict scope, which she likens to programming buckets. Her folder list is intentionally small and mostly flat: an assets folder for non-Markdown files, a databases folder for tracking items like crowdfunding projects and a video database, a playbook folder meant for packaging content later, and buckets for plugins, private material, Readwise, scripts, sources, and a system folder. For tabletop role-playing games, folders help distinguish worlds and versions of the same setting. Still, she notes that most notes end up in the root directory; the TTRPG folder holds the largest share, but overall the vault is not folder-heavy.

The real organizing engine is a “map of content” built from links. Her Obsidian Publish landing page (“Fork My Brain”) acts as a hub with topic sections (Tech and Software, Taking notes and making stuff, TTRPGs). Individual topic pages link out to related notes and also embed other maps of content, letting her attach nuance such as tool compatibility (e.g., Grafana with Prometheus) or relationships between concepts (e.g., OpenTelemetry as a merger of OpenTracing and OpenCensus). Dataview queries then pull those tracked notes into functional tables and dashboards—like a “pending projects” table for crowdfunding backers, or Dataview-driven PC and session views for active campaigns. She also uses Dataview with templates to generate compact session and meeting summaries.

A newer layer—bookmarks—keeps her “Core Principles” and “Year Ahead” notes always visible, updated as weeks, months, quarters, and the year roll over. The overall message is not a one-size-fits-all system, but a reminder that organization should mirror how someone thinks: she prefers hyperconnected, link-driven structure because it stays future-proof and invites serendipity rather than forcing ideas into rigid hierarchies.

Cornell Notes

Nicole van der Hoeven’s Obsidian vault is organized for long-term scale by avoiding rigid “one note, one place” structures. She limits tags and uses folders mainly as namespaces (e.g., assets, databases, system, and TTRPG worlds) rather than as the primary way to express relationships. The main organization comes from “maps of content” built with links—topic hubs like “Fork My Brain” that connect notes and embed other maps to preserve nuance. Dataview queries then turn tracking data into useful tables and dashboards, such as pending crowdfunding projects and tabletop role-playing campaign views. Bookmarks keep key planning notes (Core Principles and Year Ahead) front of mind as time periods roll forward.

Why does she avoid a folder-first or tag-first approach as the main organizing system?

Her philosophy targets binary placement—if a note sits in one folder, it can’t naturally belong to multiple contexts. She also worries that adding more structure increases upkeep as the vault grows (from 8,000 notes toward much larger counts). Tags are treated as a weak fit for her needs because they don’t provide the context-rich “why here, why not there” relationships she wants. Instead, she uses links and maps of content to express relationships and nuance, while keeping folders mostly for namespace boundaries.

What does “namespace” mean in her folder strategy, and how does it shape what goes where?

She borrows the programming idea of a namespace as a bucket that restricts scope. In practice, she uses folders to group items that shouldn’t be mixed—like an assets folder for all non-Markdown files (graphics and PDFs), a databases folder for tracking systems (crowdfunding and a video database), and a system folder for templates and Kanban-style project boards. For TTRPGs, folders help distinguish different campaigns or worlds, including separate versions of the “same place” across worlds.

How does her tag usage work in practice, and why is it still limited?

Tags are mostly an inbox or workflow tool. She uses “TVZ” to mark items “to verzetteln” (unprocessed). For open-source work, she uses tags under “k6” to capture feedback quickly, then nests subcategories like k6/feedback/analysis so notes roll up into a structured view. Even with nested tags, she doesn’t rely on the tag pane for day-to-day navigation because links and maps of content better support context and reuse.

What is a “map of content,” and how does it add nuance that folders can’t?

A map of content is a hub page that lists linked notes and other maps, functioning like a parent note. On “Fork My Brain,” she organizes topics (Tech and Software, Taking notes and making stuff, TTRPGs) and then links to more specific pages. Unlike folders, these pages can include extra context: she links to tool sites, marks items as deprecated while keeping them for completeness, embeds other maps (like monitoring tools inside ops tools), and records relationships such as Grafana working with Prometheus or OpenTelemetry combining OpenTracing and OpenCensus.

How do Dataview queries fit into her system beyond simple tracking?

Folders help keep tracking data in one place (e.g., crowdfunding projects), but Dataview queries bring that data together into functional views. She uses a Dataview table to list pending crowdfunding projects and includes metadata and handy links. In tabletop role-playing, Dataview queries power campaign dashboards—showing PCs (including retired ones) and session histories. She also uses Dataview with a CSS snippet (minimal cards) and template-driven summaries, including AI-generated images and one-phrase session recaps.

What role do bookmarks play, and how are they maintained over time?

Bookmarks act as a front-of-mind planning layer. She keeps “My Core Principles” and “My Year Ahead” at the top, then follows with year/quarter/month/weekly notes. As each new week, month, quarter, or year begins, she updates these bookmarks so the planning notes stay current. Additional bookmark sections include NVDH-related material, making-things notes, business info, and TTRPG groupings.

Review Questions

If a note could logically belong to multiple topics, which part of her system is designed to handle that flexibility—and why?
Where does she draw the line between folders as namespaces and links as context, and what problem does each solve?
How do Dataview queries transform stored notes into dashboards, and what are two concrete examples from her vault?

Key Points

1
Avoid rigid “one place only” organization; use links and context-rich hubs so notes can participate in multiple ideas.
2
Scale planning matters: keep organization light enough to maintain as the vault grows from thousands to tens of thousands of notes.
3
Use tags sparingly as workflow markers (e.g., an unprocessed inbox), not as the primary navigation system.
4
Treat folders as namespaces for scope boundaries (assets, databases, system, and TTRPG worlds), not as the main relationship engine.
5
Build “maps of content” with linked pages and embedded sub-maps to preserve nuance like compatibility, deprecation status, and conceptual relationships.
6
Use Dataview queries to turn tracked notes into tables and campaign dashboards (pending projects, PCs, sessions, meeting histories).
7
Keep key planning notes visible with bookmarks and update them as time periods roll forward.

Highlights

Her vault’s organizing backbone is a link-driven “map of content” approach, with “Fork My Brain” acting as a topic hub rather than relying on folders alone.

Tags are mostly an inbox/workflow tool (e.g., “TVZ” for items “to verzetteln”), while links carry the context she cares about.

Folders function mainly as namespaces—especially for assets, databases, and TTRPG world separation—while most relational navigation happens through links and Dataview.

Dataview turns stored tracking data into actionable views, including pending crowdfunding tables and tabletop campaign dashboards with session summaries.

Topics

Obsidian Vault Structure
Maps of Content
Folders vs Tags
Dataview Dashboards
Planning Bookmarks

Mentioned

Nicole van der Hoeven
TTRPG
AI
DevOps
NPC